One time, many moons ago, I thought about buying a really expensive guitar.  I didn't have enough money at the time, so I thought about financing it.  I talked to the credit people at the music store about applying for a card.  Their first question was, "How's your credit."  I was 19 years old.  I never had a credit card.  My parents always talked about how evil they were.  I answered, "I don't know.  I guess I don't have any credit."  The credit guy slowed down and started to put the credit application back where he got it from.  "I could put in the application for you, but you won't get approved unless you have a certain credit score.  You might want to think about building up some credit."  Now there's an interesting paradox:  You can't get approved for credit cards unless you have credit, and you can't get credit unless you have credit cards.  It's sort of like applying for a job that requires a certain amount of experience.  In order to gain experience, you need to have a job. 

But then I found out that credit card companies give credit cards to any idiot who asks.  That's how they stay in business.  They know that a certain number of stupid people will charge as much as humanly possible on their credit cards, will be unable to pay the bill, and will therefore be forced to pay outrageous financing charges.  Why do you think the APR on most credit cards is around 15-20%?  Because credit card companies can.  If they could, they'd change it to 100-200%, but there are laws against that. 

I told my dad I was thinking about getting a credit card, and he said, "Why do you want to do that?"  I answered, "Because I need to build up my credit."  He said, "Oh, you don't need to worry about that."  But yes I did!  How else was I going to get credit history?  I'm not sure where he was going with that line of thinking. 

Now, 29 years later (or maybe 4), my credit history has enabled me to buy everything from a diamond ring to a car to a house.  Big time stuff.  But I never charge more than I can reasonably afford.  And I fully take advantage of credit card rewards.  I (and Wendy) currently charge everything we possibly can on our credit card so that we'll gain an unbelievable number of points.  These points can be used to redeem gift cards to restaurants, hotels, and stores.  We've already spent a $100 gift card at Ruth's Chris Steak House, a $50 gift card at Hard Rock Cafe, a few $25 gift cards at Applebee's, and a $50 gift card at a Marriott.  There's nothing like getting free stuff for doing nothing.  It almost seems weird that Citibank is giving us free money for using their cards, but then I remember all the interest-paying idiots that are financing my free meals and vacations.  Thanks, idiots.  (Note:  Some people are forced to pay finance charges because of certain unfortunate financial situations, and these people aren't idiots.) #money